


Time is Not a Division

by willow_larkspur



Series: Gwen's Competition Fics [117]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Gen, Lily is a Whovian, Marriage of Convenience, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22620178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willow_larkspur/pseuds/willow_larkspur
Summary: A mysterious call leads to hilarious results.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Gwen's Competition Fics [117]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1250309
Comments: 1
Kudos: 42
Collections: Monthly Challenges for All (2019)





	Time is Not a Division

**Author's Note:**

> Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I’m just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn’t going to get you anything but tears.  
> Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that’s you.  
> Author’s Note: So…time travel is a perfectly valid solution to all the icky cross-generation shipping needs, right?

(^^)  
**Time Is Not a Division**  
(^^)

“Is this seat taken?” The speaker accepted Lily’s headshake as answer enough before pulling out the chair and settling in it. She stretched out her right hand earnestly afterward. “Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me, Mrs. Potter.”

Lily Potter shook the hand offered as she assessed the well-dressed woman. This woman appeared every inch a stylish barrister just a few years older than herself. She was clearly a witch, though only someone in the know about the magical world would be able to tell the tiny clues such the tell-tale bump of a wand along her left arm or the slightly longer cut of her prim suit coat that marked the extra length that could be transfigured into robes. The smile that Lily was receiving was welcoming in a way that was rare these days when one never knew who was on the other side of the war (or worse: who was determined to remain neutral during it).

“You made an intriguing case, Miss Granger,” Lily offered after the silence had lasted a moment longer than what was comfortable. And really, that was the reason that she was here, meeting with a perfect stranger who had rung her not an hour ago. Few people knew about the Order of the Phoenix, let alone knew that she and her husband were a part of it. Anyone who knew this information deserved at least a meeting. Not that Lily was going to risk Harry by bringing him. The woman’s smile just grew warmer as they took seats on either side of the small café table.

“I’ve had a long time to work on my pitch, Mrs. Potter,” she admitted, “and please call me Hermione.”

“Alright, Hermione, why did you want to see me?”

“Straight to the point then,” Hermione said easily without any rancor. She pulled a thin portfolio case onto the table. With expert ease, the woman pulled out a small stack of parchment and set them in front of Lily. “The paperwork before you contains the copyright information for the Potter Legacy program, as well as a few other points of interest. You probably have never heard of the program before, but let me assure you that this program ends up helping a lot of people.”

“What does this mysterious program do?” Lily asked instead of admitting that she had not heard so something that bore her husband’s surname. As protective of their names as the purebloods tended to be, it was entirely possible that Lily had simply not been brought into the secret. Dorea _hated_ her far more than Charlus and James knew. The other possibility was that this was a pitch for a new organization and Hermione was simply just portraying confidence to get her to agree.

The soulmark on her forearm twitched, as it tended to do. Soulmarks tended to be unstable without bonds to anchor. When the testing came back that Lily’s soulmate didn’t exist, she had been determined to not let that stop her from living her life. She loved James, just as much as he loved her. They were comfortable with each other, equally aware that they weren’t the fairy tale that people outside their friends thought they were. If James had been the same toerag he had been during their early years at Hogwarts, Lily would have never considered their marriage of convenience, but he had grown a lot after she had confronted him in their fifth year, even if he was still prone to hijinks if he got too bored. Besides, having Harry made it all worth it in the end.

“It helps provide the means for soulmates to find each other,” Hermione supplied. Her voice sounded like she was being extra careful about something. “Even if testing had previously shown empty marks, we—the Program—can expand the parameters of the search to include all of time and space. Then it just a simple matter of delegating an agent to unite the soulmates.”

“Sounds like something out of _Doctor Who_ ,” Lily admitted, earning a nervous smile from her visitor. “Did come in a TARDIS, then? Should I expect Daleks or Cybermen to be attacking soon?”

“Nothing like that,” Hermione said. Her eyes searched over Lily’s face like she was trying to memorize it. It was oddly familiar, thought Lily couldn’t quite place it. “Who would dare to attack _you_ , after all? I mean, you’re Lily Evans-Potter!”

“You make it sound like I’m the Doctor. That really doesn’t help your cause, Hermione.”

“It doesn’t, does it?” Hermione said with a laugh. It tinkled like a brook. Lily felt herself relaxing. “It’s just that where I’m from, you’re famous, much like the Doctor. You’re the woman who defeated the Dark Lord, nearly single-handedly. You have no idea how thrilling it is to finally be meeting you.”

“I suppose that I don’t,” Lily agreed. Her soulmark twitched again, leaving a demanding ache behind. Lily dropped her hands to her lap to subtly rub at it. “Finally?”

“Oh, yes, I’ve been training for this trip for over three years,” Hermione explained. “It was decided that I was the best candidate for the initial trip.”

“Why?” Lily questioned softly. Hermione’s face softened, growing wistful. “Why would you be best?”

“Because you’re my soulmate,” Hermione answered, as if it said everything that needed to be said.

Lily’s mark twitched again, as if shouting its agreement with Hermione’s declaration. That more than anything settled the questions swirling through her mind. Hermione had to be what she was claiming to be, which meant that the rest of the outrageous tale had to be true as well.

James was going to laugh his ass off when she told him.

**Author's Note:**

> Submitting Info:  
> Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A  
> Individual Challenges: Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Gryffindor MC (x2); The 3rd Rule; Short Jog  
> House: Hufflepuff  
> Assignment No.: Term 10 – Assignment 8  
> Other Hogwarts Challenges: Auction [22.4] Lily Evans Potter/Hermione Granger; Pinata [Medium] Soulmate AU; Gym (Situps – “Is this seat taken?”); Insane Prompt Challenge [29] (Hijinks); Scavenger Hunt [98] (Write a slash/femslash fic.)  
> Representation(s): Lily Evans Potter; Hermione Granger  
> Bonus Challenges: Nontraditional; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress)  
> Tertiary Bonus Challenges: n/a  
> Word Count: 953


End file.
